The Seattle to Portland Yarn Train is pulling away from the station TOMORROW MORNING! Are you ready?

If you haven't yet registered there is still time. Registering is a great way to get information about this awesome event. Our coordinators, Katie and Barb, have worked hard to pull together an exciting event this year.

There are nine shops participating this year; Knit Purl, Happy Knits, Close Knit, Pearl Fiber Arts, Yarnia, Yarntastic, Dublin Bay, Twisted, and Yarn Garden. Each shop has something different and amazing to offer. Check them out online to decide which (if not all) of the shops you wish to visit this year. Portland has an incredible public transportation service to help you get to each of the shops, plan your route ahead of time using their website: trimet.org. You can also choose to stay in the Pearl District where there are three rockin' shops within walking distance from Portland Union Station and many more intriguing places to visit like Powell's City of Books, VooDoo Donuts, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft, to name a few.

This year Barb and Katie will be tweeting their adventures, as well as event updates, such as train delays and other important information. Follow them @YarnTrain. You can also share your photos of the event in our Facebook Album, or email them to the Webmaster, who will then share them online.

If you forgot to register or lost the link to the Yarn Train brochure (full of discounts and information), you can still access it and download it from our website, Yarn Train Brochure.

Here is a guest post from Maureen (Mo) Galbreath, our valiant Yarn Train coordinator, who recently spent some time in Portland previewing the shops and other features of Portland, that you won't want to miss while you're there.

I just spent two lovely days in Portland visiting the seven shops that will be on the Seattle to Portland Yarn Train Crawl. The Crawl is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, with the Amtrak train leaving the station at 7:30 am.

This year, we’ve added four new shops to the Crawl. All are accessible via Portland’s TriMet bus system. We will have printed information on which bus to take to get to each of the outlying shops. Yarnia Be sure to check out their website. Especially the video of how the yarn is wound on their machine.

Twisted Next stop on our Portland (PDX) trip was Twisted. So many wonderful samples to look at and a big library of patterns as well. This shop is definitely set up for browsing with places to sit down and their own tea bar. Be sure to check out the “About” option on their website to learn about the yarns they carry and their clubs. The Shawlette Club looks soo inviting.

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay was next on the list. A sweet shop with so much to look at and a very comfortable place to sit and knit, complete with fireplace and TV. Visit their website to check out their yarns. And be sure “to take a virtual tour of our shop” to familiarize yourself with what they carry. The battery on my phone was depleted and I was unable to take any pictures here. You’ll have to visit in person to see for yourself how lovely it is.

Urban Fiber Arts Our last stop for the day was Urban Fiber Arts. We always get such a warm welcome from Cindy whenever we visit. This shop features many local hand dyers and some of the color ways are so pretty. It was their evening knit/spin night so we had an opportunity to watch one of the gals spinning. Be sure to check them out on Facebook or on their website to see some of the yarns and learn more about the activities going on at the shop.